Dear Doves,
I was intrigued by Gary Rich's January 18, 2007 post on Psalm 75 and March 2007. http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/jan2007/garyr118-2.htm The concept of the Psalms correlating to months in the 21st Century is a new one for me. So, just out of curiosity, I decided to see if Psalm 74 had any connection to the events of February 2007. In that Psalm, the Jewish people ask God to remember them and to turn His eyes back to the ruins of the temple. They ask the Lord how long He will let the enemy mock Him and revile His name. "Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long. Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually." Psalm 74:22-23. Significantly, controversy over excavations and repairs made by Israeli archeologists has made the temple mount area a hotbed this February -- the very location specified in the Psalm 74. Many Palestinians surrounded the area and protested the work being done there, claiming that it threatened the al-Aqsa mosque. This possible connection between Psalm 74 and February 2007 has made me seriously consider whether there will be a connection between Psalm 75 and March 2007.
Psalm 75 talks about God judging the wicked of the earth and exalting the righteous. If the Psalm-to-Month Theory is correct, verses 2-3 of Psalm 75 may point to some significant events. Perhaps even to the Rapture. The King James Version and the New International Version have very different translations of these two verses. "When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it (KJV)." "You say, 'I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge uprightly. When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm (NIV).'" Consequently, I checked the Hebrew for 3 key words in these verses at the Blue Letter Bible website in order to get a better understanding of what is being said. The results were very interesting.
The word that is translated "I shall receive" or "I choose" has other possible translations that are Rapture-sounding in nature: "to take away," "snatch," "take in marriage," "to be removed," and "to fetch." This same word is used in 2 Kings 2:9 in connection with the translation of Elijah: "When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?'" For those who think that there may be a Rapture connection to Esther/Purim, it is the word used to describe Esther being taken to the king. "She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign." Esther 2:16. On the subject of Purim, which will be celebrated in March 2007, I learned that the drinking of wine is actually encouraged on this holiday. It may be significant then that wine is mentioned in Psalm 75:8: "In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs."
The word that is translated "congregation" or "appointed time" is the same word that is used to describe Jewish feast days and God's prophetic schedule of events. (For example: "For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." Habakkuk 2:3.) It seems that the Kings James Version's use of this word gives recognition to the fact that the word is frequently used in connection with the Tent of Meeting/Congregation, Tabernacle, and Temple - all places where the people assembled as a group, especially at appointed times. Perhaps, therefore, something on God's prophetic schedule is going to occur in March. Or perhaps there will be a particular assembly of people that will convene at an appointed place in March.
The word that is translated "dissolved" or "quake" figuratively means to melt with fear and alarm. Although the meaning provided by New International Version carries a more literal meaning of an earthquake, it also appears to be a justifiable translation. If you look at Nahum 1:5-6, the same word is translated "melt" and is used in the context of describing an earthquake: "The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him." Perhaps there will be a noteworthy earthquake that will occur in March or another event which will make people melt with fear.
I could not resist jumping ahead to Psalm 76 which seems to be a thank you note to God for defeating enemy combatants. In fact, there seems to be a progressive sequence of events from Psalm 74 to Psalm 76. First, a cry for the Lord to defend His Name, second, the dispensing of judgment by God, and third, a recognition of the name of God. I probably should not speculate, but I can see a possible scenario that could apply to these psalms. There are similarities between the Gog-Magog Attack of Ezekiel 38-39 and Psalms 75 and 76. In Ezekiel's prophecy, God says that He will make His name known to his people and to the nations. "'I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel." Ezekiel 38:7. Significantly, Psalm 76 talks about the name of the Lord being known after God defeats the enemies of Israel: "In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel." Psalm 76:1. Ezekiel prophesized that the Israelites will be able to use the weapons of their enemies for fuel for 7 years. "'Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up - the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.'" Ezekiel 39:9. Psalm 76:3 talks about God's destruction of weapons: "There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war." Ezekiel prophesized that there would be a great earthquake and Psalm 75 may also refer to one. (If you are familiar with David Lowe's books, you will know that he believes that the Rapture will be accompanied by a massive earthquake.) "In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground." Ezekiel 38:19-20. (Note that both the KJV and NIV meanings of dissolving in fear and physical quaking, that are found in Psalm 75:3, are encompassed in this verse in Ezekiel.) After God's intervention in the Gog-Magog Attack, the bodies of soldiers will be strewn all over and it will take 7 months to bury the bodies. See Ezekiel 39:12. Psalm 76:5 also makes reference to the bodies of soldiers: "Valiant men lie plundered, they sleep their last sleep; not one of the warriors can lift his hands." Lastly, Ezekiel 38-39 makes it clear that God is the one who arranges for the Gog-Magog forces to convene against Israel and that it will occur according to His own timing. "You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them." Ezekiel 38:16-17. Likewise, the judgment described in Psalm 75 will occur at a time appointed by God.
All of this is pure conjecture, however. I unfortunately do not have an inside track on when the Rapture will be or during what sequence of events it will unfold, but if this Psalm-to-Month Theory is correct, we can at least expect to see some sort of judgment from God in March 2007. We may want to pay close attention to the time when Purim is celebrated (March 4/Adar 14) and to Nisan 1 (March 20), which is the time that God established the New Year in Exodus 12:2. (Purim has an additional connection to the month of Nisan, because the lots that were used to decide when the Jews were to be destroyed were cast sometime in Nisan. See Esther 3:7.) It will be interesting to watch and see what happens.
Maranatha.
-- Lisa Taylor